Shattered Glass
by ZVluv1848
Summary: Making mistakes happen, it's almost inevitable. But what I did was not a mistake. It was unthinkable. And now the one person that means the world to me is gone. Now years later, I'm still broken. Broken like Shattered Glass. TxG Please Read and Review!
1. Broken

Some things that you guys might want to know before you start reading… Troy is 27 years old; he's one of the most sought after athletes in the world. He's like a David Beckham in the basketball world or the Kobe.. And this whole chapter is told through his POV. The italics are flashbacks. And in the present, he is currently in Hawaii. For this chapter specifically recommend that you listen to Broken by Lifehouse. It was most of my inspiration for writing this chapter..Hopefully the story doesnt confuse you too much.. Enjoy and please REVIEW!! Thanks

Broken

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing  
with a broken heart that's still beating  
in the pain there is healing  
in your name I find meaning_

June 18th 2018  
4:52pm

There are just some things in life that you can't possibly prevent. Some things that'll happen and no matter what you do, you just can't hide from them. Your mother decorating the house for Christmas while it's still July is one of them. Getting detention for being late for the eighth time in a row is another. Falling in love with someone that only makes your heart skip a beat every time you lay eyes on her is something completely different. Coming back to the one place that carries too many memories that it's impossible to run from now, that's entirely within your grasp. Being here was not something I could prevent from. Nor would I want too at this point.

But none the less, this isn't supposed to be happening. None of this is supposed to be happening. There were things in this world that were meant to prevent this from happening. I shouldn't even be here, and yet I can't imagine where I'd want be other than here. I just couldn't help but come back here, to the place that was once ours. It seems incredibly stupid and ridiculous for me to be standing in front of this house after everything's that happened, but 4 years is a long time. Surely there were some things I would eventually not remember, this however is not one of them... Deep down, I wish she was here; wishing she was here with me. I wasn't supposed to be here, not when it broke my heart in two.

I think about it almost every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month, of every year. Imagine spending 4 years thinking about the same thing over and over and over again. It's like repeating the same routine endlessly. Like traveling a thousand miles every single day but never getting where you want to go because of a major roadblock. My roadblock is not having her in my life anymore. My life seems like a million mile journey now. I'll never get to where I want to be. In her arms again. It's like this constant pain in your heart that's reminding you of how much you've screwed up your life. You can think about it all you want until you realize that no matter how hard you try and forget about your completely mindless mistakes, that pain that you feel will never ever go away. There's nothing in this world anyone could say or do to make me forget about that one day. That horrid day that's changed the way I live now. It's always going to be there. And the life that I live now, reminds me of that every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month, of every year.

There are a million of other things I could be doing right now instead of standing here. The championship game is probably on the top of the long list. What's the other millions of things on the list you should ask? Well I've got a commercial to shoot tomorrow for Nike. Then I have a promotional tour for my brand of cologne that she helped me create. I've got TV appearances to do. And yet I have no idea why I'm standing here. I should be on the court right now, about ready to swish in that 3 pointer. Listening to the roar the sold out crowd as I walk back onto the court after that freakin long halftime. But everyone knows that all that glory's over now. I'm not that same player anymore. Instead it's probably Chad's turn to shine. He probably deserves more than I do at this point. I truthfully think he'll be captain next season. Assuming I'm not there.

Being one of the most famous athletes on the planet, you would think you're life would be picture perfect. You have everything, the attention of people from afar; enough money that you could stay home every single day and still have enough for a 10 million dollar mansion, and everyone wanted to be you. People would camp out all night in the cold just to get a glimpse of me. But nobody would want to be me. I don't see why. Not when they've known what I've been through the lat years. It's like you're falling apart, and there's nothing in the world that could help put your life back together. It's like no matter how many games you win, you'll never feel like a winner. Always like a failure. Your whole world is crumbling and fading away but all you can do is watch and feel completely helpless. Watching the world tear you apart as the one person in this world that completes you, walks away.

Back when we were together, I hated being away from her for a whole day. Imagine not seeing her face for four years. Although her face has never left my mind, it's obviously not the same. I can't hear her laugh anymore, all though I can think of the millions of times she's made me laugh. I've been in complete agony for what seems like forever. I've tried just about everything I could think of to move on, to try and erase the image of her tears and her heart-broken face as she ran away from me. But I can't. I've had four long years to try and adjust to life without her. And I can't do it. I'll never be able to move on; I'll never be able to look at someone the way that I used to look at her. Never. I already knew that the moment I met her.

I distinctly remember the exact moment I first laid eyes on her. I knew where I was, what I was doing, what I was wearing, and what I had for breakfast that morning. It's as if the memory would always remain with me until I left this earth. Never seeming to fade away. It was back in sixth grade, when she and her mother had just moved all the way from Washington. It took her a while to warm up to everyone, but when she did; she stole all lights from the ceiling and used it herself. She was simply radiant. She was frankly one of a kind. And I was easily taken with her...

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_February 12__th__ 2004  
__7:18am  
_

_It had been a long and entirely frustrating morning in the Bolton Household. First off, I woke up half and hour later than I had expected partially due to the fact that no ones alarm in the house went off. That was due to the fact that the power was cut off on my tiny street. Perfect. That was just what I needed to start off my already absolutely hated Monday. Second, my younger sister Maddie thought she'd decide to make her self pretty for some school boy crush she had on my neighbor next door. She was only in the fourth grade for crying out loud. So with her sudden interest in make-up and other girly products I refuse to understand, she took an estimated fifty-two minutes in the bathroom. Leaving me with only 13 minutes to shower and find something decent to wear before I missed the big yellow bus. Rushed, frustrated, and completely hungry, I some how found a way to get outside to my bus stop, fully clothed I might add, and just in time for the bus to pull up to the curb._

_I found my seat on the bus next to my best friend Chad. It wasn't hard to find him sitting at the back of the bus, his whole foot of bushy hair could have caused a head on collision with anyone following the bus behind. I sat down next to him, still completely agitated. _

"_What's up? You look tired." He questioned as I sat down to grab a granola bar from my suddenly unzipped backpack. Great. Probably lost my homework._

"_Yea I guess, it was just a bad morning for me today." I peeled open the bar and took 3 whole bites before the whole share of granola was already gone. _

_The bus drove up to my middle school and stopped to a halt. I grabbed my backpack and nearly tripped off the bus after realizing one of my shoes was untied. 'What the hell?' God this just wasn't my morning. My day was never going to get any better. I opted not to go to my locker before class started, just wanting to grab hopefully some breakfast in the cafeteria considering I had a very light one this fabulously crappy morning. I told Chad that I was going to get something to eat and that I'd see him in homeroom in a little bit. Cafeteria food wasn't nearly as good as Momma Bolton's breakfast but soggy French toast sticks would have to do. It was weird; I knew no one in the large lunchroom and suddenly felt ridiculous. Why was it that no one ever ate the most important meal at school? I looked down at my mudslide of a breakfast and suddenly found my answer. _

_After eating my wonderful meal and hearing the first bell, I pleasantly threw away the rest of my breakfast and made my way through the busy and frantic halls. I reached my locker just in time to grab my books for first period. Regretfully I remembered that they were still sitting on the dining room table. Perfect. I slammed the locker shut and walked off. I reached room 15 and had absolutely no desire to walk into it. This was definitely a sign that this day was not going to get any better. My morning was already crappy but stepping into room 15 just made it even more miserable. I hated this class. But I reluctantly walked in. Didn't want to be late._

_I found my permanent seat two spaces next to Chad near the back of the room. I sat down and grabbed some writing utensils for class. 7:55 had just reached the clock and the final bell rung. With that, Mrs. Smith took to the head of the room and immediately silenced us, waiting for the usual morning announcements to come on. _

_If there was one thing I absolutely hated about my first year in middle school, it was not the fact that I suddenly felt very timid of giant 8__th__ graders, because I didn't. It wasn't the fact that sixth graders all around us were being shoved into lockers and trashcans. I know it's cruel but apparently all 8__th__ graders welcome us little people with that wonderful present. No, none of these things bothered me, slightly because I knew it would never happen to me. I was Troy Bolton, bad things never happened to me. Except for having Mrs. Granny Pants (aka Mrs. Smith) as my first teacher in the morning. Mrs. Granny Pants was just about the worst teacher in the history of worst teachers. If there were ever an award for worst teacher she would win it hands down. People all around the school sympathized for me, Chad and the rest of the 21 kids in this morning class. She was just simply the worst. Short, stubby, remarkably old and dull, she made math even more boring than it could possibly ever be. We called her Granny Pants because she always wore the biggest pants and it always looked like she wore diapers or something. But other than the ancient teacher, I loved middle school. It was the middle of February and everything seemed to be going great. It was strange to think that just last year I still had recess and had the coolest teachers. Middle School made me feel really grown-up. It frightened me a little but it was still pretty cool, even if I was in sixth grade. Oh yea one other bad thing about middle school. Homework. That kind of sucks. _

_Mrs. Granny Pants had put up today's assignment for math and we were instructed to take out our packet that we were currently working on. I turned the page open and began today's lesson. Today was going to be a long day, I could just feel it. Nothing would change that today. I just wished that God would send me some kind of I don't know something, anything to help me get through this frustrating day. A lost 20 dollar bill or my math homework to surprisingly appear in front of me. But suddenly as I was writing out equations, and thinking of ways to get back at Maddie, the door creaked open and our tall and very scary looking principal Mr. Wallace appeared, turning back behind him as someone I couldn't see, peered slightly around him. I could tell it was a girl just by the way she was hiding and the fact that she looked like she was wearing pink. 23 curious faces looked to see if they could catch a glimpse of the obviously unfamiliar and reserved girl. She didn't seem to come out from her spot even as Mr. Wallace stepped more clearly into the room and spoke. _

"_Hello there." Mrs. Granny said. We were broken from our trances for a brief second by the old specimen. _

"_Hi there Mrs. Smith. I'm sorry to interrupt your class but I just wanted to introduce you to a new student here. She's just moved into town and I just wanted to make sure she gets situated all right. This is Gabriella Montez." He said talking to the whole class and pulling the little girl out from behind him. I could clearly see her face now. She was definitely new. Otherwise I would have clearly noticed her before. She had light brown curls just falling a little below her shoulders. Her eyes were deep with golden brown, and they screamed torture and embarrassment right now. Like she would have rather been anywhere else but here, standing in front of 25 people. But she was different; she had a sweet, innocent, like form that I found incredibly charming. Gabriella. I suddenly took a liking to that name. _

_As the rest of the class probably wondered where she was from, why she came here, I couldn't help but still think about her face. Her soft features attracted her to me unlike anyone I've ever met. But I am only 11 so maybe I'll have a little bit more time for that. But I didn't plan on it. She looked quite horrified to be the new girl and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I were in her place. She also looked like she didn't know she was at all beautiful. Like she wasn't too sure of herself, that nobody else in the room was having the same thoughts as me. She scanned around the class very shyly and slowly her brown eyes became fixed into my blue ones. She was gorgeous. I smiled at her and soon enough she returned the gesture. _

_Suddenly my day didn't seem so bad… _

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I never had any bad days when I was in her company, it just simply wasn't possible. I could have been stuck in a ditch for a whole day, but if she was with me, it couldn't have been too bad. She brought light and happiness to everything she did. She brought warmth to everything she touched. She offered hope to every word she said. And she brought love and joy to every smile she gave me. She was, well frankly, quite perfect. Any man would have dreamed of spending the rest of their lives with someone like her. Being able to hold her and realize that she loved you and only you. When it came down to it, she could have picked any other person to spend the rest of her life with- love them unconditionally and be faithful- and out of everybody in this whole ginormous world, she chose me. And I let her slip away…

I could easily tell you every single detail about her. Inside and out. Whatever you wanted to know. I'd be able to tell you in a heartbeat. Because I knew her better than anyone else, even better than herself. She often found something wrong with herself, like her hair was too frizzy, or that her toes were always pointed in some weird direction. And no matter what she said, I always told her she was perfect, and that there was no one else like her in this world. And it was 100 percent true.

I knew everything about her; we had never kept any secrets from each other. Knowing someone for 17 years, you're bound to know pretty much everything about them. She loved watching movies, and her favorite movies were anything with Leonardo DiCaprio. She'd said and I quote 'who doesn't love Jack?' She never could stay up past 2am, except if I was still out of town for a game. She'd never go to bed until I was home and lying safely in my arms. She could never sit through a horror movie unless she was watching it with me. The only chips she ever ate were the ones that belonged in the 'ito' family. Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, you name it, she ate it. She never broke any rules. Not one. She never got a speeding ticket although I have caught her reaching 80 sometimes when no ones around. She never drank a single drink before she turned 21. And she never once had done drugs. She was almost too perfect.

Whenever she was truly frustrated with someone, she always excused herself from them because she never wanted to say something she might regret the next morning, even if she was furious. When she's desperately trying to figure out a problem she would scrunch up her face, making her forehead wrinkled and her nose all cute like a button. When she was making something to eat and she realized that she was missing a certain ingredient she'd raise her hands up in defeat and start laughing at herself for even forgetting it in the first place.

I always wondered what I had done to deserve her. That I hadn't done any good deed before I met her, not a good enough deed to have God send her too me. She was too good for everyone. She was a loyal friend to anyone who needed one. She was dedicated to helping people, and she never backed down from a fight. She was a strong person, emotionally, always being there when something went wrong. I never thought I deserved her, and well I was right.

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_February 12__th__, 2004  
__8:05am_

_Class seemed incredibly long today, probably because I couldn't help but stare at the clock waiting for the bell to ring. That and because I couldn't help but stare at her from my seat. Mrs. Smith had put her only two rows in front and clearly to the right of me, making it impossibly hard not to gaze at her. She sat down next to my other friend Sharpay, who I could tell kept hassling her about details of her life. Gabriella only turned around twice to take a glance at me. It surprised me for her to turn around and meet my stare. It gave me butterflies like you couldn't believe. Something I was not used too. I am only 11. _

_When the bell finally did ring, I stood up quickly and made my way towards the girl of everybody's attention. A huge crowd had enveloped her in the middle and I got a slight look at her as she looked up and over everyone's heads, to meet my face. She gave me a look and quickly mouthed 'help me,' I smiled at her kindness, it was rare for somebody to not speak there mind around here. I was surprised that she didn't just get up from her seat and storm out of the room. But I shook the feeling off and decided to save my damsel in distress. I swiftly made one motion until I finally got to her desk. _

"_All right all right everyone come on now back up. Jeez give her some space." I announced loudly as everyone stared at me shock, but didn't argue. No one argued with me. They all slowly took a step back seconds later realizing that they still had a class to get too. Sharpay and Chad were the last two people standing with me. I looked at her and her face was the most relieved I had ever seen since I first laid eyes on her 50 minutes ago. She seemed almost happy now. She gave me a slight smile._

"_Thanks. That was uh… strange. Is everyone always like that." Before I could answer the blonde next to me decided too. _

"_Not really, only when new people show up. Which you would be the first so we can't help asking questions. ." Gabriella's smile faded and I quickly grew disappointed. Sharpay always had a big mouth. _

"_All right come on you guys let's get going to class. We don't want to be late." I didn't really care if I was late for history. Mr. Anderson was hardly a teacher. I came in late to his class everyday and how many tardies had I received? Zero. _

_Sharpay unwillingly grabbed her books from her seat next to Gabriella and took off after Chad, who gave me a wink and continued to walk out of the room, leaving the two of us and Mrs. Smith sitting at her desk in the back. Gabriella once again gave me that smile. I felt my breathing slightly increase. I watched her stand up with ease and grab her books from the desk. I waited at the door for her and held it open once as she approached. We stood in the hall for a few seconds, observing the crowded halls. This was strange. What should I say? Maybe I should just walk away. No oh my god that's mean. Oh man why am I so nervous? She's just a girl. Oh come on say something. Say something smart though!!_

"_So uh what's your next class?" I asked fidgeting with loose lint in my pants pocket. Wow good job Troy, that wasn't too bad! She looked up at me and then gave a sigh as she retrieved a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. She unfolded it and read the schedule. _

"_Um history with Mr. Anderson. Room 21" I smiled inside. My day just got a whole lot better._

"_Well that's great; I actually have that class next too. I could walk you there if you like." Obviously I didn't want to over step my boundaries just in case she didn't want anyone's help. Better to ask rather than assume. My mom's words echoed in my mind. Her face lit up with relief. _

"_Yea that would be great. Thank you." I started walking towards the west hall as she followed closely behind me. All eyes were on the two of us, star sixth grader and the new girl. She looked once again uncomfortable as we walked past to our next class. Boys all around looking at her with eyes that made me incredibly jealous and feeling incredibly lucky that she was walking with me. _

"_By the way, what's your name?" She asked quietly as we were feet away from the door to history, and the final bell having already rung. I turned around and saw her looking up into my eyes. My heart rate flying sky high now._

"_Troy. Troy Bolton." I said back casually. She smiled once again, this time much wider than before. I could clearly see her beauty in her face this time, something that I had witnessed. _

"_Well it's nice to meet you Troy. My name's Gabriella." She said as if I didn't already know her name._

"_It's nice to meet you too Gabriella." I said back trying to hide behind a smirk. She smiled again and gently touched her right hand on my shoulder as she walked into the classroom, all eyes on her again. As I watched her walk into the classroom, leaving me standing in the lonely hallway it was at that instant that I knew. It was at that exact moment that I Troy Bolton, was falling in love with Gabriella Montez._

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I remember having always been afraid to tell her how I felt back then, partially because I didn't know how she felt about me. Would she look at me like I'm some kind of lunatic for maybe potentially destroying a perfect friendship. Or would she smile and scream up and down saying what took me so long to declare my feelings for her. But I knew though, from the moment I met her I was going to have that conversation with her sometime…

It's a hard thing to do, trying to not think about her all the time. Even back in high school my mind always drifted off in the middle of a lecture. She consumed every single one of my thoughts, making it physically impossible to learn anything. I knew from the very first moment we ever spoke, my life was about to change drastically. I never quite knew though, how much it would change until I had begun to spend most of my time with her. She was addicting, like no matter where I was, what I was doing, she was constantly always in my mind. Like a tiny voice inside my head trying to tell me something.

It was hard trying to move on with people always asking you about her constantly. _"Where did she go Troy?" "Are you guys officially calling off your engagement?" "Do you still love her?" _What kind of idiotic question is that? Did I still love her? It's one of the most ridiculous questions I've ever heard.

I've known her for more than half of my life. Which when you think about seems like a pretty long time to just anybody, but to me it's like knowing her for an eternity. If anybody know me, and I mean really truly knew me, she would be it. She knew me inside and out and probably all around and then back. She could tell you how I liked my eggs in the morning. She knew my exact shoe and waist size. She knew when I was truly upset about something. She knew why I'd never travel to Florida. She got why I never did laundry on Fridays. She knew why the only reason why I graduated high school was because of her. And she understood why on February 14th, July 27th, October 11th, and December 25th, no one was able to call me or reach me at all times of those days. It was because I spending time with the person that I chose to spend the rest of my life with…

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_May 18th 2010  
__11:53am_

_I couldn't believe I was getting ready to do this. I don't know why I'm so nervous all of sudden. It's not like I haven't seen her like this before, I mean there were other proms and dances, not to mention my mom's yearly Christmas party for her working place. I couldn't imagine going to one of those without bringing her. She always made these kinds of things fun. Probably because I could never keep my eyes off of her. Seeing her all dressed up and looking breathtaking was not a surprise for me. But for some peculiar reason this time, millions of butterflies were welled up in the pit of my stomach at the thought of seeing her. I keep telling myself that this is just a normal prom, but it's not. Probably for two very distinct reasons. One is that this isn't just any normal prom; it's our last prom as East High Seniors. And two because I'm going to do something that I had never done before. Something that would change my life forever. Something that would make me the happiest man in the world. Something that scared me so much that I had never felt this kind of fear before. _

_Asking her to marry me was the plan. I had thought about this long and hard, I mean I am only 17. Seventeen year olds just don't get married I already knew that. It's like not normal, but what I feel for Gabriella is far from normal. It's real, I know it, she knows it, and the rest of the world knows it too. We've been together for six years. It seems like a long to some people but when you're young it's really not. You wish you had an eternity together. And I wish I had forever with her. We've been through the ugly phases of being freshmen in high school, dealing with rumors and constant jealously we've both shared. Me being the basketball star, girls constantly wanted nothing more than Brie and I to split. Constantly throwing themselves at me and always trying to stir crap up. It would never happen in my book, but sometimes Gabriella always seemed to doubt herself around some girls. And her being the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, I found that it had become a full-time job to protect her from the assholes of high school. Guys would regularly hit on her and make her feel uncomfortable. She was the most attractive girl in our school and it was only right that they knew she was taken. Yes, we've survived just about every teenager experience that there was too experience. But the only thing I think about these days is just being together, forever. Dreaming about living a life together, sharing our souls. There was nothing in this world I wanted more than that. The thought of Gabriella Bolton, brought shrills down my spine. I could just hear me introducing people to her. 'Guys I'd like you to meet my wife, Gabriella Bolton.' Nothing more in this world sounded more perfect than that. _

_But of course being 17, there was some glitches in my plan. I had already talked to Mrs. Montez, and she surprisingly took it better than I thought she would have, probably because she was so understanding of our relationship. I made Gabriella happy and that was all she wanted to see. But there was one condition that she made me promise to keep. She preferred that Gabriella and I wait till after college to get married. It was true that there was no rush; I just wanted to put that ring on her finger and claim that she was mine and only mine. I wanted the rest of the world to know that I love her. She would be my fiancée and that was all I needed for the moment. So I gladly agreed to her request. The next part was making sure my own parents accepted the idea just as well. _

_I had some different responses, but all eventually ending up being okay in approval. My father was a little disappointed that I decided to do this now, instead of years later. He simply didn't understand the need to do it tonight, the night of our senior prom. I told him there was no better night. It would be more special tonight and I would make sure of it. My mother was slightly more convinced than my dad that this was a good idea. She was a romantic so she saw my point of view. But she did make the same request as Naomi Montez did. Like before, I accepted the after-college-wedding and before you knew the only thing stopping me were the little butterflies in my stomach. _

_I had everything already planned and ready to go. I had been planning this for months making sure everything was perfect, right down to the very last flower and candle. Me along with all the rest of the guys would pick up the girls getting ready at Sharpay's and then we'd head over to The Royal Hotel, where we'd party until we couldn't feel our feet anymore. Then Mrs. Rude would go up onto the stage and announce the prom king and queen. Gabriella and I would graciously accept the crowns and we'd have the routine first dance in the middle of the floor. Then when the time is right, I'll lead her outside to the gazebo and declare my undying love for her. I'd get down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. She'd accept and we'd go and tell all our friends the glorious news. That was the idea at least. But now the only think I could think of was…_

"_Yo Troy? Anyone there?" Damn Chad. I snapped out of my trance and realized that I must have been out of it for a while. I blinked my eyes furiously trying to focus on where I was right now. Oh right my house. Getting ready for tonight, senior prom. I took a deep breathe and turned to look at the man waving his hand in my face like he's some kind of wizard. How can someone who I've known my whole life, still be the one person that I could never figure out? Probably because he's Chad, and no one ever understands Chad. "Were you even listening to anything I just said?" He asked me getting even more annoyed at the fact that I was still staring at him in annoyance._

"_Nope. Paid no attention what's so ever." I said smirking and turning to walk towards the kitchen. All this thinking about tonight was making me thirsty. Which only meant one thing. I'm scared shitless._

"_Dude what's wrong with you? I know it's our last prom and all but come on you're really starting to freak me out." He said directly right behind me. He was like a bug I couldn't get rid off. _

"_Chad I'm fine I just got a lot on my mind. That's all." I really didn't want to get into this with Chad. Once he knew something was going down, he never ever stopped until he got what was going on. So needless to say he didn't need to know what's going on tonight. Especially since I wanted to keep it a surprise. I walked towards the cabinet and grabbed an empty glass, then I walked towards the fridge to grab some soda._

"_What do you mean a lot on your mind? Why what's going?" There he goes. Interrogation time. I looked to him pleading that he wouldn't push the subject any further. Apparently he didn't understand me when I tried to mouth 'shut up.' He gave me a questioning look as I sighed and rolled my eyes. Then he tilted his head in confusion. _

"_Is something going on with you and Gabby? Are you guys fighting or something cause that's the last thing I need. Imagine Taylor blabbing all night about the two of you." I quietly rolled my eyes away from him. To think me and Gabby were having problems was absurd. We were far from having problems. _

"_No Chad, Brie and I are not having a fight." I took my now empty glass towards the fridge to grab some more soda. I had already gulped down 2 glasses, only reminding me even more that I'm scared shitless._

"_Well than what it is then? What's got you so freaked out that you can't even listen to a conversation? And why you so thirsty all of sudden?" Damnit. He noticed my thirstiness. Crap. "And why are you sweating so much you look like you're about to get married or something._" _I held the glass up to my mouth as I froze at his words. He laughed a little, obviously thinking the idea was completely false, but only his laughter was heard through the house. I turned around to face him. Instantly his smile froze and his eyes did a complete 360 as he looked at my dead-serious face. It took all but three seconds for him to piece everything together. Then it clicked. _

"_OH MY GOD!! YOU'RE PROPOSING?!" Damn Chad. _

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That was probably the last time I would ever drink too much soda in front of Chad…

I was an arrogant son of a bitch 4 years ago. I don't know what happened to the old Troy. Being a Laker and having everybody praising me and telling how much they love me, I guess it just went to my head. That was the one thing she was afraid of when we moved to L.A. together. I told her I would never change and that we'd always be together no matter what happened. Keeping up with everything and trying to please everyone, my life suddenly was spinning out of control and before I knew it, it was too late. I used to think I was invincible, that nothing could ever tear me down. I was Troy Bolton; there was nothing that could go wrong with my life. But I've made plenty of mistakes in my life, two of which are considered to be the worst of my life. One is mistaking that nothing bad could happen in my life, not when I have everything already. The second mistake is taking her for advantage. That she would never find out. It was only a one-time thing, but that doesn't really matter all that much now does it? The fact that I let it happen is proof alone that I'm a jackass.

Standing here, in front of the one place I felt like running too, it seemed so much more different than the last time I had been down here. 5 very long years ago. What I wouldn't give to erase the last 5 years and still be happy. Still be with the one I love. But as I stood in front of the house I used to call my dream home, it looked oddly the same. Which is strange because I know my memory isn't all that great but as far as I knew someone else lived here. And yet it didn't all seem like it at all. The white wicker furniture still sat around the white deck surrounding the house. The same old little white mailbox was still in the front of the house. The curtains in the inside looked to be the same too. It was strange, it was like I still owned the place. But I knew that it wasn't ours anymore. It was still the same place I built from the ground up but it wasn't the same.

I started walking slowly around the house trying to observe more but still very careful not to disturb whoever lived in it at this moment, though I wasn't too sure if it was occupied at this very minute. I didn't notice any cars in the driveway as I pulled up earlier. It pained me immensely though, to hear that she had sold the house, although it didn't really surprise me. I knew that once we were over, she'd want nothing to do with anything that reminded her of me. Like this house. The house that we built together, when things weren't so out of hand. When things were normal for us.

I had been thinking about buying this place back. It just holds so many memories and truthfully I didn't want anybody else living here except for me. And her. I can dream can't I? I wanted this place to still be ours even if we weren't together anymore. I wanted to keep this place until the day I died, just like I promised her. I could just walk right up to the front door and say that I wanted to buy this place from them. I'd give them 5 million dollars for it. They'd probably look at me like I'm some kind of a lunatic and shut the damn door in my face, but I'm Troy Bolton. I'd like to think they'd at least give it some thought. I'd also like to think anything could happen as long as I set my mind to it. And truthfully I don't think anybody would shut the door in my face. That is if you were her and royally pissed off at me.

I heard a car pulling up to the house. I suddenly felt like an idiot being here now. What would I say to the owners? I mean I couldn't just say 'Hi I'd like to buy your house from you.' Could I? Oh man I've got to think of something fast, and I mean fast. Crap what if they call the cops for trespassing? Shit. Think Troy, think Troy. I'll just be myself and be honest. I started walking back around to the front until I saw a black SUV in the driveway. I kept my pace until I was walking onto the porch.

Three things happened simultaneously as I walked around the front porch. My feet froze into place on a creeky misplaced piece of wooden floorboard. My heart stopped beating, and Gabriella Montez stood directly in front of me.

"Troy?"

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So what do you guys think? Should I continue????If some of you guys are confused the next couple of chapters should help clear things up.. If you do have questions about this chapter please let me know and I'd be happy to explain anything.. Please leave reviews and tell me what you think!!! Thanks =)


	2. Best I Ever Had

June 18th 2018

5:01pm

Time had seemed to stand still for a moment. As if the world refused to keep turning, waiting for some kind of signal.

I'd no longer felt my knees holding me up straight. I could no longer see the palm trees swaying slightly in the background. I'd no longer heard the ocean waves crashing behind me. And I could no longer feel my heart beating inside of me. My breathe was no longer steady.

It's an odd thing, seeing someone you never expected to see for the rest of your life. It's like a sudden shock at first, then once you've had a second to collect your thoughts, you realize that deep down you're truly scared to see them again. And then once that occurs it takes all but 2 seconds to realize that even though you're scared to see them, you couldn't be more happier.

She looked frightened as she stood in front of me, sunglasses pulled back onto the top of her head, effortlessly resting there. Car keys in hand as she held her wallet under her arm. She looked just the same but even more beautiful than before. I wasn't sure if that was even possible but there wasn't a better sight to see right now as my eyes were fixated on her. It took me a brief second to look at anything else than her face. She looked speechless just as I do probably. Her chocolate brown eyes wide in disbelief as the man from her past came back into her life in an instant.

Then suddenly, time began to tick…

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was quivery and she talked with hesitance that scared the shit out of me. She looked directly at me, her coffee creamed eyes piercing straight into my royal blue ones. 4 years of pain suddenly reached me like a rocket ready to take off.

"I didn't know you'd be here. I thought some other family lived here." I tried to avoid the question, simply inferring that I had no intention of ever seeing her again. I didn't want her thinking I had come looking for her. But now that I finally knew where she was, I knew I'm not leaving this god for Saken Island without her.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" her voice spoke many levels that I could sense. Fear, remorse, guilt, pain, shock… But most of all, anger.

"I wanted to come back… I needed to come back." I knew the moment the words left my mouth, that they hadn't made any sense. And I knew that it was not the answer she was looking for. She took a step back, both of us having never moved for last 2 minutes. Both afraid of lightening to strike us. Then her eyes shot red.

"Why would you possibly need to come back here for, when you clearly have everything you need. What could you possibly need here that you don't already have back in your super luxurious life back home?" Her voice was full of power and an emotion that I had never heard from her. She was Gabriella, the quiet, sweet, lovable girl I had fallen in love with. This girl standing right in front of me seemed far from the person I had planned to spend the rest of my life with. I realized that it must have taken a great deal of pain to have her conflicted. This must have been somebody's fault. And a knife pierced right through my body as I realize that that somebody was me. I silently cursed my stupid mistake again. Something I've never stopped doing for the last four years ago.

"This used to be my home too you know." I looked down at my feet, swaying them back and fourth making the only noise hearable for the both of us. A creaky floorboard. I looked back up at her and then to the left, viewing our house. Our house that was still standing. Just like us.

"Yea used too be until you turned into a bastard and left." My heart broke. It was as simple as that.

"I think it was you that left actually…" I stopped before I could finish. I knew this conversation was going everywhere but pleasant and civilized. But I guess I kind of saw that coming. "Look I want to apol..."

"What apologize? Apologize for what? Turning your back on everything that we've been through? Apologizing for what you've done to your family, to me? Apologize for breaking my heart? Yea you may have already done that, but you know what I don't give a damn about how sorry you are. Nothing you say or do is going to change how much I hate you at this very moment. Nothing."

I stared at her, my heart seeming to break all over again; something that I was sure would cause my death pretty soon. I could only take so much pain. But this pain was different. It was excruciating. It was more unbearable than before. It was like witnessing some kind of murder or something. Or fearing that your worse nightmares were coming true. This time however, my worst nightmare had already happened. Hearing her agony in her voice made me want to kill myself this very moment. I knew that she would hate me for the rest of her life but to hear the words coming from her very mouth, I couldn't think of a much more worse feeling.

She walked directly pass me- never looking into my eyes again- towards the steps that led down to the sandy land. I stood there, hands in my pockets, thinking of what I should do next. I knew she didn't want to talk to me anymore but I also knew that we were hardly finished. There were things that we needed to straighten out. At least there were things I needed to straighten out. She had never done anything wrong and I wanted her to know that. That my utterly stupid mistake was my fault and never hers.

Shoving my pride somewhere else, I began to follow her down the steps to the beach. I stood a foot behind her, staring out into the ocean just like her. Watching the different sizes of waves crashing and reaching the edge of the sandy beach, just a few feet away from us. The weather was perfect today, nothing but sun and clear blue skies. But that was minutes ago. Now it seemed to be overcastting, sun no longer shiny and dark clouds rose above us.

Her voice still as sweet as ever.

"I'm sorry about earlier. It's not fair to be mad at you; it's just that I'm shocked to see you here, that's all." She said confessed surprisingly. It's not fair for her to be mad at me? Is she kidding me? I'm the whole reason why were up this shit creek.

"Brie you have every right to hate me," I noticed her flinch at the use of her old name." I don't blame you if you do." I said still standing behind her, not wanting to suddenly jump into a conversation we both knew would happen sooner or later.

"I don't hate you Troy. I could never hate you. No matter how hard I wish I could." There goes that knife again.

I didn't know what else to say at this moment. She still sat, looking out beyond her, and for a second I realized that I couldn't breathe. There was nothing more worse in this world than realizing you let the one you love slip away. How could I ever let her slip away? The one person that I knew I could never live without.

"I thought you were some where in New York studying medicine. That was always your dream wasn't it?" She never once looked to me; instead she looked right out into the ocean, her eyes pouring just looking for some kind of an answer. She struggled for a little while, and I couldn't help but just stare at her in awe. I didn't think it was possible for her to be more beautiful, but I'm not always right. She looked painstakingly gorgeous as she sat right beside me, the wind from the ocean waves slightly brushing her long brunette curls just past her shoulders. I honestly couldn't imagine a more breath-taking sight. And the thing is that she had no idea the effect she had on me this very second. Her voice alone sent shivers down my spine.

"I was in New York, for a little while. I had interned at a hospital but after a couple of months, I realized that I couldn't do it. Not there at least. I just couldn't stand being there all alone." She sounded ashamed as she confessed to me. Like she had made a mistake, and it took me a couple of seconds to realize that her one mistake was that she was alone, and that she missed me. She would never admit that she missed me, given everything that I put her through. She was stronger than she thought she was. But from the very look in her eyes I knew that she had. Missed me that is.

"How long have you been here?" curiosity filled my voice.

"About 3 years. After New York didn't work out for me, I decided to move back home with my mom so I could get situated a little more. I blew most of my savings on living and tuition expenses, so I had to get caught up a little." It was hard to make out her words from the crashing sound of the waves but I could still hear her perfectly but also partly due to the fact that her voice was almost a whisper. As if she never wanted to tell me the real reason. But she was the only thing I heard.

"You know what was mine was yours too you know?" I said very slowly. I knew that any reference to our relationship might send her over the edge. I was referring to our bank accounts that we both shared. As soon as my paychecks started getting bigger and I had more endorsements from playing, I figured that since we were going to get married sometime in the future everything might as well be hers as well. I never complained, this way she got to go shopping for whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. I got to spoil her more than she liked too.

"Yea I know, but we were over and I wasn't going to take what wasn't mine anymore." I tried to avoid the pain I felt at her words. _We were over._

"So how did you end up here? In Hawaii? What made you come back?"

"After realizing that New York just wasn't for me, I knew I had to get my priorities straight again. I still had a passion for medicine, so when I moved back home I took some classes, went to community college and just started saving and saving up whatever I possibly could. I had worked two part time jobs and then I don't know I finally just decided that I couldn't really be happy without you. Then I figured out what place made me feel most complete and secure and this place came to mind. I haven't slept in the house for a single night since I got here. I've never even stepped foot inside since you and I were last here together."

"I figured you would have sold the place. My agent called me and told me you decided to sell it and keep the expenses. I didn't question it because I figured you didn't still want it"

"I thought about it. I really did, I had called the real estate agent and everything. I had papers drawn up and anything else that was necessary. But as I drove down to the office to make it official, I stopped. I drove back down here and sat in this exact same spot looking out into the ocean. Watching the waves crash and rumble like it was trying to send me some kind of a message. And then I realized that I couldn't get rid off this place. It's a place to come back to and think about my life. Our life together. It's a good place for memory lane."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why haven't you been inside all these years?"

"Cause it'll probably break my heart."

"That's what happens every morning when I wake up and realize you're not lying next to me."

She turned to look at me and took a deep breath.

"Look, why don't you go and look for whatever you're looking for. As far as I'm concerned you have a life to get back to." She looked desperate for a departure from me, but she never got one. She looked back into the ocean and for a few seconds it felt like we were actually together again. None of the bad shit happened four years ago. I never screwed up and she never left. I wasn't a jackass and she didn't have anything to forgive me for. And then the moment was over. She got up and gracefully walked back up the pathway that led to our house. I stared out into the ocean again, realizing that I wasn't about ready to give her up yet, although she isn't mine anymore.

So I know that its been forever since I've updated this story. Truthfully I kinda forgot about this story. But I was inspired today and felt like continuing. Leaving reviews always makes my day!!! Thanks for reading!!


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